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Unease in Cuba as Castro has surgery - Americas - International Herald Tribune

HAVANA — An operation forced Fidel Castro to temporarily cede power to his brother for the first time in 47 years, abruptly ushering in a period of uncertainty in Cuba as the severity of his illness remained unknown.

Castro, less than two weeks from his 80th birthday, did not appear on the live television broadcast Monday night in which his secretary read a letter from the Cuban leader. Castro's message said he underwent surgery for gastrointestinal bleeding, apparently due to stress from a heavy travel and work schedule related to recent trips to Argentina and eastern Cuba.

Castro, who took control of Cuba in 1959, resisted repeated U.S. attempts to oust him and survived communism's demise elsewhere, said he was temporarily handing over the presidency and the leadership of Cuba's Communist Party to his brother, Raúl.

Raúl Castro, Cuba's defense minister, who turned 75 in June, also did not appear on television and made no statement on his own. For decades the constitutional successor to his brother, Raúl Castro has assumed a more public profile in recent weeks.

Fidel Castro last appeared in public Wednesday as he marked the 53rd anniversary of his July 26 barracks assault that launched the revolution. The Cuban leader seemed thinner than usual and somewhat weary during a pair of long speeches in eastern Cuba.

The calm delivery of the announcement appeared to signal that there would be an orderly succession should he become permanently incapacitated.

Cuban exiles celebrated in the streets of Miami, but Havana's streets were quiet overnight as Cubans awaited further word on Castro's condition.

It was unknown when or where the surgery took place, or where Castro was recovering.

Ongoing intestinal bleeding can be serious and potentially life-threatening, said Dr. Stephen Hanauer, gastroenterology chief at the University of Chicago Hospitals. He said it was difficult to deduce the cause of Castro's bleeding without knowing what part of the digestive tract was affected.

Ulcers are a common cause of bleeding in the stomach or upper intestine, while a condition called diverticulosis also can provoke bleeding in the lower intestine, especially in people over age 60, Hanauer said. He said this condition involves weakened spots in the intestinal lining that form pouches, which can become inflamed and provoke bleeding.

With Havana's streets calm, an electronic news ticker at the U.S. diplomatic mission provided the only clue that something dramatic had occurred inside Cuba's government: "All Cubans, including those under the dictatorship, can count on our help and support. We respect the wishes of all Cubans."

"He'll get better, without a doubt," said Agustin López, 40. "There are really good doctors here, and he's extremely strong."

But Martha Beatriz Roque, a leading Cuban government opponent in Havana, said she believed that Castro must be gravely ill to have stepped aside - even temporarily.

"No one knows if he'll even be alive Dec. 2 when he's supposed to celebrate his birthday," she said by telephone. She said opposition members worried that they could be targets of repression during a government change - especially if the authorities fear civil unrest.

A White House spokesman, Peter Watkins, said the U.S. authorities were monitoring the situation: "We can't speculate on Castro's health, but we continue to work for the day of Cuba's freedom."

President Hugo Chávez of Venezuela, Castro's strongest international ally, was the first foreign leader to react to the news, expressing his distress during a visit to Vietnam. He said he called the Cuban leader's office after hearing the news.

"Waking up this morning and receiving that news, you may see what feeling one would have toward a good friend," Chávez said Tuesday morning. "When there is such an announcement, it's worrisome."

Across the Florida Straits in Miami, exiles waved Cuban flags on Little Havana's Calle Ocho, shouting "Cuba! Cuba! Cuba!" as drivers honked their horns. Over nearly five decades, hundreds of thousands of Cubans have fled Castro's rule, many of them settling in Miami.

Castro has been in power since the Jan. 1, 1959 triumph of the armed revolution that drove out the dictator Fulgencio Batista. He has been the world's longest-ruling head of government and his ironclad rule has ensured Cuba's place among the world's five remaining communist countries, along with China, Vietnam, Laos and North Korea.

Castro has resisted U.S. demands for multiparty elections and an open economy and insists his socialist system will long outlive him.